Sandals Royal Barbados

KatieL536 wrote a review September 2025
London, England

Excellent but where are the buggies?

We booked this at short notice. Last year we stayed at Sandals Barbados and were centrally located. This time we stayed near the Greenhouse. We stayed in the Lawrence building. We asked for an accessible room. The suites were very good. Modern, comfortable and state of the art newly refurbished. Bath tub on the balcony, fridge full of drinks that were restocked daily, bar with alcohol and wine even an ice bucket. Rooms were cleaned daily and also turn down service every night. Very clean and plenty of toiletries and towels were provided.

Plenty of sunbeds at the pool and a nice peaceful pool. You could book the sunbeds as late as 0700 and there were still plenty of sunbeds left at this time.

The only problem was that it was a long walk to the main restaurants and unlike other Sandals there is no buggy service (even for the disabled) and it was very difficult for us to get around with all the walking and no help. The "Loyalty" department was very poor. Although we had been to this resort 10 months ago we failed to get our "Returners Dinner Invite" and they were pretty rude about it too.

All other staff were excellent and so helpful especially the "Club Sandals". The restaurants were touch and go. Some were excellent like the Butchers on the Sandals side but the Butchers on the Royal Side was one of the worst meals I have had with cold food, fatty meat and poor service. Room service was variable. One day piping hot fresh food, the next day cold chips and fish swimming in grease! Don't they check the food before they serve it?

We enjoyed the holiday but if we were to come again I think we would have to insist that we were centrally located. This can also have problems as you have to book the sunbeds at 0400 am if you want the front rows of the main pool.

I don't know about the beach as it was such a long walk from the room that we hardly ventured down there.

Sandals must provide Buggies in future so that people can get around the resort!

Date of Stay: September 2025

D5634MTtanjam wrote a review September 2025

5 star price for 2 star service -mold in room and ran out of food at 4:30 pm

We paid for a five star hotel and got a two star (2*) experience at best! We traveled for over 13 hours to get to a five star resort that ran out of food at one of only 2 restaurants open when we arrived at 4 PM. We were told there were only two restaurants open; a jerk shack nd a pizza parlor, until later in the evening. When one pays for a 5 star all inclusive resort they don’t expect to be greeted with pizza and a small shack that runs out of food. I am profoundly disappointed with the service and accommodations we received during our recent stay at this resort in 9/2025. As a guest who chose the property based on its reputation for five-star excellence, the experience was deeply troubling and fell far short of our expectations. What was supposed to be a special trip, and my first visit to a Sandals property, was unfortunately marred by a series of significant issues that began on our very first day.

From the beginning, we encountered a series of significant service failures:

* Dining Disappointment: On our first day, we went to the Jerk Shack at 4:30 PM only to be told there was no food available other than festival bread and sweet potatoes, as the restaurant had run out of everything else well before its scheduled 5:00 PM closing time. This was especially frustrating as it was our first meal after a long day of traveling since 5 AM and the only other place open was a pizza parlor.
* Maintenance and Cleanliness Issues: Our room had multiple problems, including a stained bench, a broken ironing board (which was never replaced despite multiple requests over two days), and a missing shower shelf. The most egregious and concerning issues were the visible black mold or mildew around the bathroom vent and the disgusting rust ring around the toilet. Not to mention they were working on the building and scaffolding outside our window. You could see the debris in the pool underneath. This is not what one expects from a luxury property.

* Inattentive Service: We experienced poor service at several restaurants. At Butch’s Steakhouse, the sommelier ignored my fiancée’s drink order while socializing with other guests, forcing him to reorder from someone else. The food was definitely not five star.

* Unprofessional Conduct: The most egregious and disappointing incident occurred at the Merry Monkey English Pub on Friday night, where we waited for nearly 1.5 hours for food. Despite being seated at 11:40 PM, our meal did not arrive until 1:04 AM. We were only served after demanding to speak with a manager, and staff showed a clear lack of professionalism by serving other guests who arrived after us. The entire interaction was handled with a complete lack of respect and professionalism. The sum of these experiences were deeply upsetting. We chose this resort for its reputation for world class service, yet what we received was inadequate hospitality and a failure to maintain basic standards. We were with a wedding party and several others in the group as well as other guests complained about their experience or lack there of.
The beach area was nice but our most memorable and pleasant time was off the property at Oistens beach. This is a life experience and A LOT of MONEY waisted on what was supposed to be en experience of a lifetime.
I can say Barbados was beautiful but save your money and go to a resort that will give you what you pay for..

Date of Stay: September 2025

U2286WLmarcr wrote a review September 2025

Would highly recommend

This is actually our second time going to Sandals Royal Barbados previous trip was September 20 24 and then again September 2025 we enjoyed it so much the first time when we were looking to rebook another Sandals we simply said we have to come back to Barbados the food was amazing

Date of Stay: September 2025

EricaM912 wrote a review October 2025
Littleton, Colorado

The Staff Makes this a Wonderful Place to Vacation

We spent 8 nights at Sandals Royal Barbados and loved every minute. We had a swim up suite and enjoyed having access to the pool right outside our room. I liked that we were close to everything, but if you want more quiet and privacy, there are similar suites near the dive shop. Seraphin was lovely and took beautiful care of us and our room. She even decorated the suite and ran us a bath on a couple of nights during our stay. We appreciate that we felt so well cared for. Also in our block was Danette and we looked forward to our daily interactions with her. Cheyenne maintained the pool and she made a point of stopping to introduce herself and chat for a minute one morning while I was on the patio.
I did my open water PADI certification here and was very impressed with the dive team. They made it fun and stress free. My instructor Tory was so chill and had a great way of explaining things. I was nervous but he made the experience relaxed and easy. Also a shout out to Jalissa, Seth and Ryan. They were very helpful and professional, adding such a personal touch to the process. I can’t speak highly enough about all of them.
Overall, the staff here is warm, friendly and welcoming. It’s the people who made our trip what it was. We loved our room, the resort is beautiful and the landscapers work hard on the grounds, but the staff was the highlight for us. We talked to Rohan several days and he knew so much about the plants and flowers around the resort. Thank you for taking time to share that knowledge with us.
The food was consistently good. We tried all the restaurants on the Royal side and liked each of our meals. The concierge who helped us make our dinner reservations was Scott and he was very pleasant. We also did a candlelight dinner on the beach to celebrate our anniversary. Ocean was our server and she was so gracious, we loved her. Thank you for making it such a special evening!
The beach is beautiful. It’s wide, with soft, white sand and plenty of shade. The color of the water is absolutely gorgeous. We snorkeled often and the visibility was best in the early morning. It’s nice to see coral growing on the rocks of the breakwater and there were many kinds of fish. There was seaweed on two days near the end of the week, but it in no way dampened the experience.
Even the security team on the beach was great to talk to. We spoke to Tariq on our first afternoon and anytime we saw him after that, he’d stop to greet and check on us. The beach is public and there are vendors but they didn’t bother us at all.
There are plenty of pools with lots of different vibes depending on what you’re looking for. The only one that ever felt busy was the infinity edge pool by the beach but we still never had trouble finding chairs. The bar there had the best bartender. I told Larkan one day I didn’t know what I wanted. He asked what I liked, then said “I got you” and he did. The specialty cocktails at dinner were excellent but he made my favorite drink of the week.
We had the most amazing vacation here. I highly recommended this resort and would definitely return.

Date of Stay: September 2025

lbard73 wrote a review October 2025
Memphis, Tennessee

Excellent 2nd Visit to Barbados

Everything about the trip & resort was top-notch! Resort is beautiful & nicely manicured. Restaurants served tasty & adequate portion-sizes, well enough to satisfy. In-Room dining was above & beyond what we anticipated, excellent, excellent. Staff were friendly, courteous & engaging. Room cleaned & always well supplied daily. We had a blast & so did the couple who joined us on this visit. We stayed at Royal Barbados, they stayed at Barbados Resort---the two are connected by a nice walk-way. We'll gladly return to either of these. Oh be sure to visit the Jamaican Jerk Shack & Portofino's & Schooners--our favorites!

Date of Stay: September 2025

mowen4 wrote a review October 2025

Wonderful Trip

The trip to the resort was quick and easy. Our room was clean and spacious. There was plenty of well designed storage. We enjoyed the large, deep bathtub on the balcony. The food was great especially at the Greenhouse, Schooners, and the Parisienne. Alcohol was plentiful and served quickly. It included Jameson. The doughnut shop and ice cream stores were special treats. There were many beautiful swimming pools. My spouse has low vision and Kellie Ann from the American Tavern was especially attentive to our needs. She helped us get where we wanted to go when we found ourselves lost.

Date of Stay: October 2025

F9139WFerinl wrote a review October 2025

Best trip ever!

Had the most amazing time and wonderful experience at the Royal Bardabos Sandeel trip.
The staff was amazing at all the restaurants and our Butlers Crystal and Annalee were amazing and so helpful.

Date of Stay: October 2025

kimhE9582KV wrote a review October 2025

beautiful resort

We absolutely loved the resort. But there was no nightly entertainment...meaning nothing on the main stage the Saturday-Thursday that we were there..The piano sing along did not start until 10p.m. and bowling is first come first serve. Some staff members were extremely nice and others were so/so...But the resort was amazing..our room was amazing...the drinks and food...top notch....but we definately missed entertainment.

Date of Stay: October 2025

8361Freemason wrote a review October 2025
Edinburgh, Scotland

Sandals Barbados Sept/Oct 2025

This vacation was our 15th to a Sandals resort and third visit to Barbados. It had been very impressive yet again, we are treated as friends by the staff who remember us. We would particularly like to mention Semena and Rhonda in Spices for breakfast, always a smile and a good start to the day. The a scuba team should be mentioned as well, always remember me. Big thanks to Ryan, Ken,Clayton, Tory, Zane. Not to forget Paddy and the other captains for taking us out on the boat.

Date of Stay: October 2025

606alixl wrote a review October 2025
Broadstone, Dorset, England

Great resort - Sandals Royal Barbados & Sandals Barbados.

We have just got back from an amazing holiday at Sandals Royal Barbados. tHE location was unreal right on the beach shared with the Sandals Barbados next door, well we would agree with the staff we spoke to as the class both resorts as 1 and that is exactly how it felt.
The resort was great for all looking for a holiday to remember. If you wanted to escape the entertainment Pool then there was several others you could choose from. Every Pool had a bar located near to it with the bartenders creating amazing cocktails to handing out waters.
We had booked a room in the tranquil quiet area away from the main areas which is exactly what we got, yet it was only a short walk away to enjoy the facilities at the resorts. The bed was comfy super-king size with ample of drawers and wardrobes. The bathroom was great, enough space for 2. We could not fault the room at all. Our housekeeper was Adiline and was amazing she made sure our room was clean and tidy everyday and always said hello to us, a great asset to the Sandals team.
The food restaurants were OK I would not say they were WOW factors, but you did not have extra service charges for Lobster or Fillet steak as you do else where. You have to make reservations for a few but most are walk in.
We went to the Italian Portofino's (Walk in) twice as it was delicious both times the meatballs for starters were amazing.
The Chi Asian (Walk in) was not very good food was just Ok, trying to eat ribs with chopsticks and not getting it everywhere, when we tried to ask for cutlery the staff were no where to been seen so my husband had to go looking for them.
We went to the Bombay Indian one evening and I have a nut allergy there was very few dishes I could eat, I also do not like harsh spice and unfortunately it was far too spicy for me. The poor server (I never got her name) was amazing she was also apologetic about the spice as she thought it was mild dish, after speaking with the chef he told her it was suppose to have spice. I asked the manager (White shirt) if he had any Raita to help cool my dish down he said we do not do that anymore and gave what seemed lumpy yogurt. My husband loved it as he likes spice but I did not eat my dinner and we did not return to the restaurant. Neptunes was lovely food and servers always polite we ate there a few times, it is a walk in and right on the beach.
We ate at the Butchs steak house on the Royal Barbados side (reservation) but the atmosphere felt cold, and the food was not impressive my husband had ordered asparagus as a side and it looked old and brown and the steak was dry overcooked, The staff I felt were not professional including the restaurant manager I want to say Darren or Daniel was far to interested about talking to 2 young girls then actually assisting with the restaurant one to avoid. However we went to Butchs steakhouse on the Barbados side (Reservation) and it was the best meal of our entire stay, The atmosphere was warming and welcoming amazing food from start to finish asparagus green and fresh, the server Shakia was the star of the show and helped to make our experience there amazing. Definitely one to go to we wished we had booked this for our last night but it was full. The others were Ok.
The entertainment was good we found ourselves at the Piano bar most evenings with Zedan and Nakeem who were the best bartenders around not only did they take care with your drinks everyone was amazing and they were funny and made the evenings great fun.
Zebe who was a bartender at the oasis pool bar and in the English pub was also great.
Overall we had an amazing holiday would we return to Barbados? probably not That is not a negative its we have done it now and there is more places we would love to travel. Would we stay at another Sandals resort? 100% we would.

Date of Stay: October 2025

timhB7225MQ wrote a review October 2025

Lovers weekend!

The service at the resort was off the charts! The beach was pretty nice as well! Food and the vibe were pretty amazing as well!

Date of Stay: October 2025

M6693ZVjonathans wrote a review October 2025

Amazing trip to Sandals Royal Barbados

Always have a great time at Sandals. This trip was by far one of our favorites. Our Butlers Krystle, Kemal and Annaleah were top shelf in making sure our every need was met and making us feel so relaxed.

Date of Stay: October 2025

cedrac73 wrote a review October 2025
Cleveland, Ohio

Disappointed by Customer Service at Sandals Royal Barbados

I was so excited to stay at Sandals Royal Barbados with my family - we all booked the same Club Level package. At check-in, the staff member was dismissive and unhelpful, insisting we had "different packages" instead of simply checking. My husband and I are seniors, we were placed in the back of the resort with a view of backyards and an alley, while the rest of my family was closer to the center of the resort. I reported my concerns the following day, but no manager ever followed up. After spending thousands of dollars for what was supposed to be a luxury vacation experience, I can't help but feel extremely let down. The lack of care, empathy, and professionalism was extremely disappointing. Sadly, based on how we were treated, I would have a hard time recommending Sandals Royal Barbados to anyone.

Date of Stay: October 2025

mirglip wrote a review October 2025
Rockingham, Leicestershire, England

Nothing amazing

The hotel is very nice .Shame
Unless u have either a butler I would not want one you have to be up at stupid o’clock to get a sun bed .
We stayed for three nights so 4 days we could not get
To our room untill 3 pm so were left wondering around with out our luggage from our arrival at 9.30 till three.
Every day aqua fit was advertised in the affinity pool at 11 am was keen to take part along with a number of others it did not happen once .
House keeping rooms
Were cleaned but twice had to phone down for towels as they were not replaced .Food breakfast was amazing and from there it went down hill.Apart from pizza and jerk chicken every other establishment at lunch had the same menu.
Dinner if u are there for a few weeks and not days as we were trying to get a booking on one of the to book for restaurants is more or less impossible and to be honest the food is ok but that is it nothing special .
By the way don’t look at the dirt under the toilet rim would not like to say when that was last given a good clean .we have done sandals a few times but feel this will probably be our last and will be looking going forward for other options

Date of Stay: October 2025

Davdenn wrote a review October 2025
Houston, Texas

Mediocre at Best

This was our second trip to a Sandals resort. The first was Sandals Ochi in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Largely due to our experience at Sandals Ochi, we decided to try another Sandals resort. We opted to accept the offer Sandals presented just before we left Ocho Rios. The offer was for seven days at Sandals Royal Barbados with butler elite service. We were quite excited about this trip, but it turned out to be somewhat disappointing. First, the room. The room was quite nice. It was a swim up room, although not a suite, a nice pool was right outside the patio doors, all you had to do was step out into the pool. The pool was shared by the first-floor rooms in this one building (about 10 of them), but most of the time we had the entire pool to ourselves. My only complaint about the room is that it was quite a large room with only one very uncomfortable erect two-seater couch and a small round table. The room could have used some comfortable seating. In all fairness, there were two chairs and a table on the patio, only marginally more comfortable than what was inside the room. Second, this is a butler suite, which is more expensive than their other rooms. We had three butlers assigned to us as we were there for seven days. Butler 1 was mediocre, butler 2 was excellent, and butler 3 was useless. In hindsight, I did not need any of them as I planned all our excursions myself. The only thing they did that I could not do was reserved a table at the French Restaurant within the resort. Butler 1 also reserved an umbrella and lounge chairs on the beach for us, but there were always empty lounge chairs on the beach. Third, the room telephone. The room telephone is what you use to order room service, one of the nice perks of the resort. Our telephone stopped working after the second night. We informed the butlers, but nothing happened. After a day or two, we went to the desk and complained. They told us that it was the butlers who deal with those types of problems, so no help there. They also told us that we could use the phone at the front desk to call room service. Well, that was about a 10-minute walk one way; it was not a practical solution. We were also told that the butlers can place any room service orders for you. Well, that only works from 7am to 10pm. The butlers do not work 10pm -7am, and Room service is 24 hours. We did attempt that with butler 3 once, and we did not receive any room service that night. So, we went four days without a room phone and without room service, a service that we paid for. On the fifth morning, finally someone from IT shows up and the phone is fixed within 15 minutes. This made me angrier. It was an easy fix, but they did not care enough to fix it in a timely manner. Finally, this is the most important issue. The day before we were to leave, we went out for a snorkeling excursion. The night before we were informed in writing that the AC would be off from 10am to 2pm the following day, the same day and about the same time frame that we would be out snorkeling. Great, we would be out for most of the AC repair. Well, 24 hours later as we were checking out of the room, the AC was still not working. At 4pm the day of the AC repair, I informed the butler that the AC was still not working. I was told that they were working on it. Who knows if they were working on it or not, but I highly doubt it, given the attitude that I was confronted with when reporting problems. At about 6pm, I texted the butler. I asked if it was common practice to leave customers in a room that the AC did not work. I got no response. In fact, I did not receive any more communication from any of the butlers from the time of that text onward. Neither of the three butlers contacted me again in any way. I did not see any of them prior to checking out or while we waited for our shuttle to the airport. If none of these things happened, we would have had an excellent trip. However, the complete indifference from the Butlers and the Resort has me questioning if I will return to Sandals again. The resort did not even offer any sort of credit, future discount, or apology. They did offer me a week at Sandals Montego Bay with the standard discounts, and that was all, which is what they do as you are leaving anyway, so nothing special there. There are other resorts that are less expensive in the Caribbean……..

Date of Stay: October 2025

kspence2024 wrote a review October 2025
England

Not worth the money!

My husband and I stayed at the Sandals Royal Barbados in January of this year and were expecting an amazing holiday. We paid more for this trip than any other holiday, but as we struggle to find time for holidays we felt we deserved a treat! When we told people we were going on a Sandals holiday, everyone raved and said we would have the best time and feel so spoilt and looked after - we came home feeling like it was a complete waste of money.

Room - the room was fine and spacious and a great selection of alcohol. Housekeeping was fine apart from one day they forgot to leave clean towels. We only realised when we were about to shower for dinner so had to call down and wait for towels to be delivered. We did use room service a couple of times and this was probably one of the better parts of the experience.

Pools - we struggled to get sun loungers every day as the butlers reserve them at stupid o'clock for those who have paid for that service. We didn't manage to get loungers by the main pool at all in the 10 days we were there. One day there were no clean towels by the pool and my husband had to go and ask at reception for them to refill them. You don't get a card to swap for a pool towel like usual all-inclusives so you can take as many as you want (people were taking 6 for 2 people)!

Beach - again it was impossible to get loungers on the beach, mainly because of the butler service. We did manage to get them on one day because I had complained and the manager organised it for us.

Restaurants - you need to book as soon as you arrive (unless you have the butler service). We went to the Italian one night and they asked us to wait in the bar as there were no tables empty, after 45 mins we went back in and they had forgotten about us. The restaurant was half empty! The choice of food during the day was fine but not a huge choice between restaurants and some days we had quite a wait to be seated.

Entertainment - there wasn't anything other than a singer on the evening we arrived which only lasted 45 mins, and a singer later on in the week. There was nothing to tell you what was going on in the hotel. We were there for New Years Eve but there was nothing to tell you what the theme was until the day.

Staff - some of the staff were lovely and bubbly, but most were quite indifferent.

Overall, we won't be rushing to book another Sandals holiday as we have had much better experiences for a lot less money with other companies. Communication is pretty much non-existent around the resort, even finding the toilets was a chore!

Date of Stay: January 2025

535wwm wrote a review October 2025

Cozy on the Coast @ Sandals Royal Barbados

We were welcomed with warmth, smiles, a song and all the charm towards a delightful stay.
Every restaurant had great meals, friendly, expedient service with a mostly soothing romantic ambient atmosphere.

Date of Stay: October 2025

V2855JRrussellg wrote a review October 2025

4 Star at best, Royal Sandals falls very short of a 5 star Resort

Royal Sandals October 2025
Having read a lot of reviews on the resort, i had mixed feeling on what to expect. the negative ones did not let me down. However, there are a lot of positives.
Be prepared for sunbed wars !! this should not happen on a 5 star resort and the staff are not interested in any resolution.
There are clear signs around the pool saying no towels are allowed before 7am. we were told by others guest that most beds are reserved by 6.30/7am !. we went on an early morning trip to the horses on the beach at 5.45am, some beds were already covered, and these were not by the the Butlers. The poolside beds are monopolised by the butlers early hours, which i believe they are not allowed to do so at that time, but like i say there is no control and no interest from the staff.
The swim up bar ran out of beer completely, also Jack Daniels and other spirits twice whilst on our stay. the Merry Monkey pub ran out of beer 5 times within our stay. The bar opposite the greenhouse, had no water at all at 11 am in the morning, the response was weve had no delivery !
Our room was a lovely size, but stunk of damp and mould, even the clothes we didn't wear had to be washed on our return due to the smell of the room still evident.
We had a dehumidifier placed in the room, that we had to empty three times a day because no one else did ! people were complaining about the damp in their rooms all the time, water on the walls and floor due to poor ventilation. The tea and milk was never replenished, neither were the wash items within the bathroom. it was my birthday whilst away, my partner went to the reception to ask if they could do something in the room as a surprise, which most hotels do as standard anyway. they agreed and said yes off course. nothing was done !!!!. There's a free sandals trip snorkeling and swimming with the turtles, which we only found out from returning holiday makers. when we went to the concierge to arrange, we were told it was in our information packs, which was not true, we also spoke to other people and they said the same. its a con, they then send you to the front arranged trips counter and you get ripped off for 180 dollars for what should be a free trip. On a positive note, there are some nice restaurants to eat at and the food is good. The majority of the staff are really friendly, especially Jack in the English pub always a good laugh.
if you are trying to choose between another hotel and Sandels are would go with the other. i have stayed in many 5 star resorts across the world and this is nowhere near on par with any of them. 4 star at the very best, and in a lot of instances 3 star. i will not be returning.

Date of Stay: October 2025

nataliekJ3224WL wrote a review October 2025

What an awesome experience

This was my second time staying at Sandals Royal Barbados, and it was just as amazing. My friends and I had a wonderful experience, the resort itself is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. We stayed in the butler category rooms with swim-up pools, which added the perfect touch of luxury to our trip. The service was exceptional, and the staff went above and beyond to make our stay memorable. I highly recommend this resort to anyone planning a visit.

Date of Stay: October 2025

flutts wrote a review October 2025
Glasgow, Scotland

Best holiday ever

From the moment we arrived until the moment we left we enjoyed every minute. It was so relaxing and I couldn’t fault it in any way. The staff were amazing - so friendly and helpful.
Our room was fantastic. Very clean and spacious and just as important - plenty of storage! We loved the serenity tub on the balcony.
The pools were fantastic, though we didn’t use every one lol. Our favourites were the pool near the jerk shack and the rooftop pool (got a great breeze up there when it was too hot elsewhere).
We had a meal on the beach to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and were left a lovely card and drinks in our room.
The restaurants were great - plenty of choice and some of which we visited repeatedly. Our favourite was the American diner for breakfast - all the staff were friendly and efficient even when it was very busy. And our favourite lunch/dinner restaurant was Neptunes. Purely for the view! Being open air and right at the beach was lovely. The food and service were great also but we found that was the case everywhere!
We would certainly recommend and hopefully will return someday!
Tips - take strong towel pegs and a cool drinks bottle which you can fill with oven almost anywhere.

Date of Stay: October 2025